Local Packers fan meets Rodgers during interview for TV show

Dani Hochhalter, from left, Hannah Bever, Jenny Ritchay and Brittany Shearier spend time Aug. 30 at Lambeau Field in Green Bay. Ritchay is slated to be part of an upcoming segment about Aaron Rodgers and Packers fans on '60 Minutes.'

When Jenny Ritchay attended the final Green Bay Packers preseason game of this year on Aug. 30, the only big-time media exposure she was likely to get was a few seconds on Lambeau Field's Jumbotron.

As it turns out, Ritchay, 22, made it to the small screen instead. The Wisconsin Rapids native and University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire senior will be seen in an upcoming segment on "60 Minutes" that focuses on the Packers, their fans and their quarterback.

"I've always been a Packers fan; you cannot not be a Packers fan in the Ritchay family. It does not work," Ritchay said.

When her parents, Mike and Patti Ritchay, Wisconsin Rapids, offered their daughter and her friends tickets to the game, Ritchay didn't turn them down. She took roommate Hannah Bever, 22, Elkhorn, and another friend, Dani Hochhalter, 21, Minnetoka, Minn., neither of whom had been to Lambeau Field, and longtime friend Brittany Shearier, 22, Wisconsin Rapids.

"We were going to basically explore that stadium, since Dani and Hannah had never been there," Ritchay said.

Decked out in their Packers finest, the women were enjoying the atmosphere of a pregame tailgating event when a man they had seen talking to other fans approached them.

The man, who they assumed was a local reporter, asked if any of the women had stock in the Packers. Ritchay said she did and her friends quickly shared stories of the Ritchays' dedication to the green and gold - including the fact that Jenny Ritchay's older brother, Vinny, 24, Wisconsin Rapids, was named for Vince Lombardi.

"The guy was just eating it up," Ritchay said. "He thought it was hilarious."

It turns out the man was Bob Anderson Jr., a producer with "60 Minutes."

"I spent a couple of hours before (the) Packers game walking up to fans seeing who might own stock and be the best interviewees," Anderson said in an email. "(Jenny) was very articulate and had a good story about getting her share from her father when she was 7 years old and had no idea what it meant."

Anderson gave Ritchay his business card and asked if he could call her for a future interview regarding Green Bay Packers fans.

"We really didn't think much was going to come of it, I guess," she said.

To everyone's surprise, Ritchay got a call from Anderson during one of her classes. On Sept. 14, she drove to the Packers Hall of Fame at Lambeau Field where she joined five others - including the man who dresses up as "Saint Vince" - for an interview with Scott Pelley of "60 Minutes." Jenny joked she "was the youngest one there by like 20 years."

"I was just overwhelmed," Ritchay said of the interview. "It was surreal; am I really getting interviewed by '60 Minutes'?"

After "60 Minutes" staff members did Ritchay's hair and make-up, she participated in a 40-minute interview about fans and shareholders to go with a story about Aaron Rodgers.

The icing on the cake was actually getting to meet No. 12.

"I did get a hug," she said. "It was pretty much the best hug in my whole life.

"He is very attractive in real life; I am going to say that right now," she said. "You know that he is cute on TV, but in real life, he is real cute."

She tried to contain her excitement when she met Rodgers.

"That was my main goal, to not embarrass myself in front of Aaron Rodgers," she said.

It wasn't until she got in her car to go home that the gushing young woman called her dad back in Wisconsin Rapids.

"It was quite a thrill for her," said Mike Ritchay, 50. "Aaron Rodgers is her favorite Packer. She said he was a really classy guy and just down to earth; he just sat down and talked to her."

Anderson said the air date has not yet been set for the segment on Aaron Rodgers and the Packers fans.

Send your Out There ideas to deb.cleworth@cwnews.net.

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Local Packers fan meets Rodgers during interview for TV show

When Jenny Ritchay attended the final Green Bay Packers preseason game of this year on Aug. 30, the only big-time media exposure she was likely to get was a few seconds on Lambeau Field's Jumbotron.

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